Friday 23 March 2007

Balance, please... ;)

So, apparently raw foodists are being classified in some places of late as ‘Orthorexic’…lol…I find this quite amusing…’orthorexic’ is a new term for ‘an eating disorder characterized by a "fixation" on eating healthful food.’ (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthorexia)
…interesting…I wonder then if the opposite can also be used – 'in-orthorexic' or 'un-orthorexic' or something similar, to describe those who have a ‘fixation on eating unhealthful food’…lol ;) There are some interesting articles on this whole Orthorexia/raw foods issue here: http://www.beyondveg.com/cat/psych/index.shtml

On March 21st I had:

1 litre water with lemon
500ml tea
700ml greens/carrot juice
bowl of Lydia’s raw grainless cereal with blend of bananas/tahini/figs/water
1 litre water
3 sushi nori wraps
carob/coconut/mesquite/maca blend
1 litre water
500ml tea

I felt sooooooo full after the cereal meal in the middle of the day – it was really yummy and satisfying, but very filling in my stomach…I felt the need afterwards to get more exercise and set out on a great bike ride…I have never in fact felt so powerful when cycling. It was an incredible experience for me…I didn’t stop the bike ONCE – not on any hill or even after getting to the top of any hill – I was so powered up and loving cycling around in the clean air and sunlight…yeeeeeeeee-HAH :) I was very surprised though to feel how strong and capable my body is right now – there’s no way I could have cycled like that even 5 months ago – it seems like I have become stronger since Juice Feasting and also from the extra exercise I’ve been starting to do the last weeks – jogging, more stretches and toning routines…it feels great…

Today I have had:

1 litre water with lemon juice
500ml tea
500ml green/carrot juice
hemp seed/flax oil/Himalayan crystal salt mix with nori sheets and sunflower greens
1 litre water
bowl of banana ice cream with chopped figs and carob sauce
300ml greens/beet juice
lettuce/avo/pesto/sprouts wrap followed by DIVINE raw apple/cinnamon cake
1500ml spice tea
400ml water

Ok, I have a very cool new trick. So, as I have mentioned before, I am accustomed to having something sweet after meals. This feels yummy in my mouth, but not so delightful to my tummy, which has to handle the food combo issues. My mind wants something sweeeeeeeeeet after a meal – it does not need to be anything big in quantity, just a very intense sweet hit. This is a constant conundrum for me. Well, today I found a GREAT solution – enzymes. Digestive enzymes taste sweeeeeeet – so I can take just a little bit of them and my mouth and mind are satisfied that they’ve had smthg yummy and my stomach and indeed whole body are happy because they get lots of extra enzymes to play with…VERY nice…
The hemp seed/flax oil/sea salt combo that I made up today is one of my favourite food mixes in the world at present. WOW. It is so simple and so incredibly divine tasting and feeling - this was the first time I'd ever tried it with nori and it was phenomenal...it tasted like chocolate to me...lol...I guess that may sound bizarre to most people, but it was so delicious to me - simple and clean and tasty...(there is still time by the way to enter YOUR favourite yummy home-made raw treat into the RawReform prize giveaway draw this month. To be in with a chance to win a case of outrageously good raw chocs from The Raw Chocolate Company, just email details of your favourite home-made raw treat to angela@rawreform.com.)
There was a power cut this afternoon and it felt like such a gift to me – I stopped writing, jumped straight on the bike and got out into the glorious sunshine…I cycled along the edge of a beautiful valley and stopped to play on some swings in a playground…I choose more FUN in my life these days…I spent sooooooo many years being serious and private and ‘hidden’ from people…now is time for me to laugh and play and enjoy more

All blessings for your own fun-filled adventures ;)
Angela. xxx

2 comments:

  1. Interesting. I read the article. Thanks for posting the link. My first reaction is that it was the rantings of someone who has fallen off the health food wagon. I’m sure that my denial that I have (or am developing) Orthorexia is a sure sign that I have the condition. (Smile) I have joked in the past that if my obsessive compulsive behavior could be harnessed for something good it would be a wonderful thing…. I say embrace it. Own it. Let’s have a parade for it.
    VW

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  2. I've talked to one person who said she had orthorexia and I don't think it should be dismissed. I think that obsessing over "healthy" food and punishing one's self over "bad" food is harmful, whether a person eventually loses too much weight or not.

    On the other hand I've been vegan for almost 3 months, but not raw (yet), and I feel better than I have in a long time. I know I can treat myself to tons of good food, and if I happen to eat something that's not normally in my meal plan (which is rare) I think... hmmm... that's not as good as I thought it would be, but I don't let that get me down. And I think that's the difference. The difference is whether the lifestyle is overall positive or over all negative in one's life, mentally and physically.

    I certainly think people can be raw and be healthy. It takes planning, but ANY reasonable meal plan involves planning and balance and effort.

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